Transverse strut and method of forming a transverse strut
AssigneeMagna International Inc.
InventorJohn Richard Potocki
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A roll forming assembly for forming a transverse strut from a tube is provided. The roll forming assembly includes a heater, such as an induction heater, for heating a tube to a predetermined annealing temperature. Next, the tube is fed to a roll former, which includes a plurality of forming wheels to shape the tube into a transverse strut. Servo motors are operably coupled to the forming wheels for adjusting the positions of the forming wheels in a radial direction during the roll forming process to give the transverse strut a variable profile along its length. After the roll forming process is completed, the transverse strut is quenched so that its base material is given a predetermined microstructure.
Claims15
A roll forming assembly for forming a tube into a transverse strut, comprising:
- a heater for heating the tube to a predetermined temperature;
- a roll former including a plurality of forming wheels for deforming the tube, at least one of said forming wheels having a non-complementary shape to the tube for changing a cross-sectional shape of the tube along at least a portion of the length of the tube, and said plurality of forming wheels including two pairs of forming wheels with said forming wheels in each pair opposing one another;
- an actuator operably coupled to at least one of said forming wheels of said roll former and configured to move the associated of said forming wheels in a radial direction to deform the tube into a transverse strut having a variable cross-sectional shape along the length of the transverse strut;
- and
- one of said forming wheels in at least one of said pairs having a convex rolling surface and the other of said forming wheels in the respective pair having a concave rolling surface such that operation of said actuator results in a portion of the transverse strut having a double walled and U-shaped cross-sectional shape.
A method of forming a transverse strut from a tube, comprising the steps of:
- roll forming the tube with two pairs of opposing forming wheels to shape the tube, wherein at least one of the forming wheels has a non-complementary shape to the tube, and wherein one of the forming wheels in at least one of the pairs has a convex rolling surface and the other of the forming wheels in the respective pair has a concave rolling surface;
- and
- adjusting the position of at least one of the forming wheels in a radial direction with an actuator during the roll forming of the tube to change the cross-sectional shape of the tube along a length of the tube to give the transverse strut a variable profile along the length and wherein the concave and convex rolling surfaces of one of the pairs of forming wheels deforms a portion of the transverse strut into a double walled and U-shaped cross-sectional shape.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.